Healing Factor
by classchic1
Summary: While running from an old nemesis, one of the sliders is gravely injured. Now they are forced to find a doctor or a hospital on another earth! Will they find one in time? Read and find out! (This is a prequel of a story series I'm working on! Also, for the same story but with pictures and a soundtrack: go to Classchic1 on Ao3) Hope you guys enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Rating:** PG

**Warning:** lots of whump and blood

**Disclaimer:** All television shows, movies, books, and other copyright material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual. I only own my original characters.

**Authors Note:** So I like to think that they took the right Arturo; however, Arturo did get cured of his brain cancer. So basically this fic is a kind of retelling of Exodus but with a much happier outcome. Thus, you've been warned! J

**Author's Note**** 2:** FYI, this same fic can be found on my Ao3 account (under the same story name and username) but on that site there's pics to go along with the story! Anyhow, please R/R!

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_What if you could find brand-new worlds, right here on Earth, where anything is possible? _

_Same planet, different dimension. _

_I've found the gateway!_

**Chapter 1**

As the sun was high in the noon sky, the sliders were running for their life yet again. A week ago, the sliders had slid into a world where guns had been band worldwide for so long no one had ever seen them before. That is until they literally bumped into an old enemy: Logan St. Claire.

The enraged woman pulled out her gun from its hiding place, from under her shirt, and started to chase them down the street. However, she wasn't alone. Logan had apparently caught the affections of a man named Mox Dawson. Mox had two friends who would do anything he said. So when Logan started to chase after the four sliders, he and his two friends ensued in the chase as well.

At some point though, the sliders hid behind a building and as they strained their ears to hear anything all they could hear was the rustling whispers of leaves blowing past them. But from beyond the building, the sliders began to hear the sounds of rhythmic footsteps beating the ground as they came closer. Then suddenly, they heard Logan yell for her impromptu gang to check behind the building.

Due to this, the sliders looked at each other wide eyed and ran down the way once again; however, they unintentionally got split up.

Arturo ran inside a small, single window warehouse and with some doing opened the large metal door and then closed it behind himself which resounded with an ominous thud sound. Before he could fully comprehend he was alone, Mox entered into the room and started to come right for the physics professor.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

Wade ran into a chain linked fence before hearing a 'tsk, tsk, tsk' sound coming from behind. Wade slowly turned around and was greeted by Logan's unforgiving face. "You know you're going to die right?" Quinn's evil double taunted before firing off three shots.

As she shot, Wade dove for cover behind a large dumpster. While she was back there, Wade noticed a toy sling shot and a small rock next to it. _Well, she's no Goliath but I sure hope this'll work_, Wade thought as she got her weapon ready. Also due to a small crack in between the dumpster and several large wooden boxes, Wade had the advantage of seeing her attacker coming closer.

And through the small opening, Wade readied her weapon, aimed it, evened her breathing, and then fired! The shot was dead on and hit Logan on the side of her head with such force she fell opposite Wade and onto a pile of garbage bags. Without waiting, Wade shot up and out of her hiding spot and ran like hell out of there.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

Rembrandt accidentally ran down an alley way. When he came to a stop, due to a wall blocking his path, he turned and was greeted by a spikey haired dagger wielding young man.

The green spikey haired boy swung his dagger at Rembrandt, forcing the musician the take a step back. Unfortunately, the Cryin' Man tripped over his own footing and went down to the ground. This misguided step was all the assailant needed to strike. The green haired boy lunged toward Rembrandt with the dagger aimed downward. But quick thinking brought Rembrandt's hands to keep the dagger at bay. Unfortunately, the dagger was still hovering over the musician's jugular. Thankfully, unbeknownst to either of the men, Wade had stealthfully stepped up behind Rembrandt's attacker and slammed a two-by-four against the green haired boy's head. The impact of the wood knocked the attacker immediately unconscious and he fell off of Rembrandt.

"Phew. Thanks girl," Rembrandt said as he subconsciously rubbed his neck. "No problem Remmy. Where's…" Before she could finish her question, she was cut off by two separate yells for help and surprise.

Wade and Rembrandt starred at each other before mentally agreeing to split up and go help the others.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

Quinn yelped in surprise as he was bodily tackled to the ground by a Caucasian man with a single braid. The two wrestled each other for dominance until Quinn delivered a quick but well aimed punch to the other's man chest.

As the single braid man clutched his chest, Quinn shoved the other off of himself and was only a few feet away when his feet got tied up. Quinn looked down to see his feet were tied up with a small but effective homemade Bola.

The single braided man was still rubbing his chest and then flipped out a small yet scary look tomahawk axe. The man raised the axe to throw it at his intended tied up target but was then shot in the neck and hand by two arrows.

Blood squirted everywhere out of the gurgling man as he fell to the ground. Quinn stared at the man and was then startled by a hand appearing on his shoulder. Quinn looked up and then immediately relaxed once he saw that it was Rembrandt, who was wearing a bag of arrows slung over his shoulder and a bow in his other hand. "You okay Q-Ball?"

"I am now. Thanks Remmy," said Quinn as Rembrandt went to pick up the tomahawk axe from the fallen man and brought it back to cut Quinn out of his restraint.

"No problem. Let's go find the Professor and Wade. She went after him while came to you."

But as Rembrandt helped the young genius up, they heard several gun shots ring out. The two men then made a mad dash towards the sounds.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

In the small warehouse, Arturo reeled from a blow Mox delivered to his neck. Then with alarming speed, Mox delivered another swift, hard and unforgiving blow as he connected his fist to Arturo's jaw. But Arturo was able to recover and grabbed the man by his hair and slammed the younger man's face into the ground. Then before Mox could get up, Arturo slammed him with the full brunt of his weight into a nearby wall by the neck. Mox gasped in pain and began to writhe against the professor's grip. But then an explosive shot filled the air.

Arturo howled in pain and grasped his shoulder while at the same time releasing Mox. Turning around, Arturo looked across the room to see someone in with a gun standing in the shadows. In mere seconds, Mox was able to catch his breath and in the next instance Mox's fist collided with the physicist's cheekbone with such force it created a loud cracking sound that filled the small room.

While he was on the ground, Arturo looked across the room and saw a figure standing in the darkness. Stepping from her hiding place in the shadows, only one side of Logan's face was illuminated as the light fell partially over her psychotic features. But then the light from the single window caught a gleam off of something in her hand.

At this moment, Wade ran into the room and saw that Arturo was trying to recover from the blow to his cheek. It was only then that she realized that Logan was there as well and now had her gun leveled at her again.

"Now looky here. David came back for round two," Logan said as she brought her free hand to wipe away some dripping blood off the side of her face. The side where Wade's rock hit.

Before Logan could say anything else, with surprising speed and accuracy, Arturo kicked Mox's legs from under him and threw the younger man across the room aimed at Logan. At seeing the body being thrown at her, Logan threw herself to the side to avoid the oncoming body; however, she dropped her gun in the process. To further her problems, Logan's blood red vortex opened up and sucked her unwilling screeching form inside.

Once Logan was sucked into her vortex, Wade rushed over to Arturo as he fell to his knees while holding his bleeding shoulder. But as she was checking his shoulder, Mox was looking around his horror. His beloved was gone and in his gullible mind: it was Wade and Arturo's fault. The angry love sick man then picked up Logan's dropped gun and aimed it at the pair across the room. Due to her back being turned, Wade did not see these new developments, but Arturo did.

Before Wade could comprehend what was happening, Mox shot four more shots but Arturo pushed Wade behind himself and took the brute force of four more bullets entering several parts of his body. One in the thigh, two in his right hand, and the last grazing his stomach. The Englishman's body reverberated in odd angles with the entry of each bullet. Blood freely streamed down his coat, pants' leg, and off of his fingers. Then after a moment, Arturo gasped painfully before falling to the ground. "Professor? Professor! NO!" Wade roared in fear.

With s psychotic grin splayed across his face, Mox walked toward Arturo's fallen body and a shell shocked Wade. But then out of no where, an arrow shot through the air and pierced Mox through the heart and his dead body fell to the concrete in seconds.

Once Mox fell, a terrified Wade was able to see who shot the lethal arrow: Rembrandt.

Rembrandt, followed by Quinn, ran over to Wade and the fallen Arturo.

At seeing the bloody pooling from under the Englishman, Quinn dropped himself to the ground. "Please somebody help us!" Quinn roared in fear as he wrapped his arms around his former physics professor.

**TBC**

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**F/N: **Fancast for this story. Mox Dawson is played by James David Van Beek. Hope you guys enjoyed! There's more to come.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** All television shows, movies, books, and other copyright material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual. I only own my original characters.

**Author's Note:** FYI, this same fic can be found on my Ao3 account (under the same story name and username) but on that site there's pics to go along with the story! Anyhow, please R/R!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Please somebody help us!" roared Quinn.

"Here Wade, use my jacket to apply to the wounds." Rembrandt said before trying to leave and find help. Immediately, Wade tore the jacket into pieces and wrapped Arturo's hand and thigh then applied pressure to his shoulder and the side of his abdomen, to which Arturo groaned loudly. His breathing, now, came out in heavy short bursts.

But due to the loud commotion, help had already come before Rembrandt could make it out of the door. Two women: one with purple hair and the other was bald. They held bowls filled with liquid and strange sliced fruit.

"We heard cries of anguish," the bald one said as they knelt down next to the quartet.

"Here! This will help your friend," the woman with purple hair said as she handed Rembrandt a bowl of yellow liquid and another woman had an arm full of what looked like yellow pomegranates.

"What will these do?" Rembrandt asked, as the two women motioned for him to kneel beside the bleeding Englishman.

"This will help slow down the bleeding and reduce the pain. Unfortunately, it will not stop it."

"Is there anyone here that can help him?" asked Quinn.

"Not with these wounds…" said the woman with purple hair, as they fed Arturo some of the yellow pomegranate. "Pour the liquid on all the wounds," instructed the woman with purple hair to Rembrandt. As Rembrandt did as he was instructed, Arturo hissed in pain as the liquid made contact with the bullet wounds.

"It's alright Professor. Everything's going to be okay," reassured Wade as she desperately tried to pull herself together.

Quinn, with his arms still straining to hold Arturo, felt every painful and labored breath the Professor took. Then he looked around at his sliding family: Wade whispering promising words to their wounded comrade, Rembrandt constantly and diligently pouring new bowls of yellow liquid on Arturo's wounds, and finally the Professor himself. The oldest male of their sliding family was holding on with every pained fiber of his being. And in usual Arturo fashion, he was trying desperately to keep his dignity despite the immense pain he was currently in.

As Quinn stared at the professor in his arms, the young genius finally came to a decision. "Rembrandt. Help me get the Professor up." "Up? Q-Ball what're you talkin' about?"

"I mean help me get him up. We can't just leave him here to suffer and die. We gotta slide and get him to a hospital."

"But what if there isn't a hospital?" Wade asked with tears streaming down her face.

"Then we keep sliding until we find one. Now come on!"

They nodded and started moving into place. "Here Wade you gotta work the timer," Quinn said as he handed her the timer.

As she prepared to activate the timer, the two women approached her. "Here," the purpled hair woman said as she handed Wade a bag. "What's this?" "It's some more fruit. This will help until you find what you need to help your friend." "Thank you so much! Take care of yourselves!" Wade said.

At seeing Quinn give her the go-ahead, Wade activated the timer which opened their vortex. She went first and was immediately followed by Rembrandt and Quinn who were holding up the Professor.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

As the four exited the wormhole, they saw that they were in Golden Gate Park. "Hello?! Is anyone here?" The three sliders yelled simultaneously. "Who are you?" replied a voice behind them. The sliders turned around to face the owner of the voice. The man was of short stature with golden brown hair, and he wore a long sleeved grey shirt with a yellow tunic inscribed with strange blue markings hung over it. "We need medical help, sir. Our friend here has been shot multiple times. Where's your hospital?" rushed Wade. "Ah. You are not from here. We don't have what you speak of; however, I am a healer." "Great! That means you can help us then?" Rembrandt asked in anticipation. "It is not I that can help your friend. Only your friend can help himself. Your friend must open his mind to the powers within himself. Only then will he heal." With that the strange man turned and went back into his tent. A tent that had a sign on it which read HEALER in bold red letters. "Now see that just sucks! Professor hope you don't me stealin' your line but that man was a blistering idiot!" That got a strained chuckle from Arturo and a soft giggle from Wade. "Come on people. We don't have time for this or apparently New Age World. Wade start it up again," said Quinn. Wade nodded and fired up the timer again. Then they jumped into their blue vortex and slid for the next world.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

Unfortunately, the next world was worse. As the vortex opened and spit out the four sliders, they were all terrified at what they saw. As far as their eyes could see, there was nothing but a molten lava everywhere while certain pockets sprouted fire every so often.

"Hurry girl! Start up that timer again or we're all gonna die here on Volcano Earth!" shouted Rembrandt. Already a step ahead, Wade opened up the timer and they were all on their way once again.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

The next world was also a dead end. There was nothing but a barren desert landscape. "Quinn! The timer is burning up!" said Wade as she winced at holding the hot device. _How much longer can we keep pushin' the timer or our luck?_ thought Rembrandt. But before the musician could say anything, Quinn retorted, "I'll figure out how to cool it down once we reach a hospital." _He's already dying in our arms. We can't fail him. I can't fail him!_, thought Quinn as Wade nodded and opened up the vortex again. They were then off to their fourth world.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

The fourth city was hugely disappointing. Once they landed, they saw the city but it looked as if nobody lived there in decades. The surrounding buildings were rubble and there were wild vines growing over everything they could see.

As they yelled for some sign of life, Arturo was having a hard time standing and was leaning more and more of his weight onto the younger men holding him up. At seeing her friend in so much pain, Wade wearily said, "Quinn…we can't move him anymore. He's losing a lot of blood and it's just causing him too much pain."

At seeing Quinn about to object, Rembrandt said "Let's put him down just for a second." Quinn relented and in sync with Rembrandt they slowly and carefully lowered their beloved professor to the ground.

Once Arturo was lying on his back, Wade fed the large Englishman some more of the yellow pomegranate and then proceeded to tearing her jacket up and began to apply pressure to his wounds.

As she was applying new pressure to his wounds, Arturo reached out to his side and patted Quinn's leg to get the young man's attention. "Quinn…," Arturo whimpered, "Thisss…is senssseless…please…just get them …home." "Professor please just one more world. I'll do anything…just one more. Please." Quinn begged as he leaned down and buried his face into Arturo's not bloody shoulder. Arturo closed his eyes before relenting. "Alright…m-my boy. Jussst…one more…"

Quinn nodded and then wordlessly looked at his companions. He was happy to see that they were already on the move. Wade was already removing her torn bits of her jacket from his wounds, placing them in the bag with the fruit, and picked up the timer from its position beside her and was prepared to activate the device. Rembrandt was carefully adjusting his grip under the Professor's back and situated the older man's arm around his neck.

Now Quinn himself mirrored Rembrandt's position, and then the two men hoisted Arturo up. Although, they had a bit of a rest, both men struggled to hold up Arturo's weight. But they both refused to give into exhaustion and hardened themselves to push on. Then Wade fired up the timer for what might be one last time with their Professor.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

The vortex opens to the fifth world with the sliders landing fairly roughly on a dirt path. Wade had hit her back on a large root while Quinn and Rembrandt landed in such a way that Arturo had some kind of soft landing. After situating the professor on the ground, the three desperate sliders looked at their surroundings and noticed that they slide into a beautiful but vast forest area. "Hello!" "We need help!" "Is anyone out there?" They all yelled as loud as they could for a minute or two before stopping. Collapsing to his knees, Quinn asked feebly and with utter despair, "Can anyone hear me?"

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** All television shows, movies, books, and other copyright material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual. I only own my original characters.

**Author's Note:** FYI, this same fic can be found on my Ao3 account (under the same story name and username) but on that site there's pics to go along with the story! Anyhow, please R/R!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Collapsing to his knees, Quinn asked feebly and with utter despair, "Can anyone hear me?"

"Q-Ball…" Rembrandt says as he places a hand on the young man's shoulder. Quinn looks up at the other man, who has become a brother to him, and sees the grief in his eyes. Hanging his head in defeat, Quinn huffs out a sob and allows the musician to help him to his feet and they both made their way over to Wade and Arturo.

With her free hand, Wade was brushing some of the professor's short hair, now matted from sweat and exertion, in a comforting manner as the two other sliders made their way over.

"Hey Professor," greeted Rembrandt as he knelt down by Arturo and tried to put on a brave face, "it's…look I just wanna say that… I'll always treasure our friendship. You're a true friend and you've got a big heart. I mean even at times when you're being cantankerous," This got a strained giggle from Wade and a fading smile from Arturo. "I know it's just because you care about us. And uh…I just want you to know, that when we get back home…I'm gonna write a classy song for you. Okay." Arturo nodded his head weakly in appreciation.

"Professor…," Wade said next, "I can't begin to thank you for protecting me back there. But then again, you're always protecting me. Look, uh, I don't believe in 'good-byes.' I can't believe that everything we are and everything we've done just disappears, ya know. I think our spirits are like a river. They've got to go somewhere. I know in my heart that we'll see you again."

"You know, I never would've been the student I was without your guidance…and love. You've always been and always be a role model to me. It's because of your strength and commitment that will always keep us going. You're a great man and an ever greater adventurer. We'll always love you. And I promise you, I'll get them home no matter what."

With his strength finally failing him, Arturo nodded and slips into unconsciousness.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

As they sat there in silence and waited for the inevitable to happen, Wade heard something very faint from a distance. "Quinn. Did you hear that?" "Hear what?" Quinn asked harshly. "Shh! Listen!"

As the three sliders strained their ears, they heard a voice from a great distance away. It was hard for them to make out what the voice was saying. _That is if our ears aren't playing tricks on us_, Quinn thought bitterly. But then the voice became clearer saying "Hello? Can anyone hear me?" They all looked at each other in disbelief before Wade and Rembrandt jumped to their feet, careful of the unconscious Arturo on the ground, and ran a little ways ahead yelling at the top of their lungs, "WE'RE OVER HERE! HELP US!"

As they were screaming, Quinn lifted as much of Arturo's prone body into his lap whispering one last plea. "Please professor. Hang in there. Just a little longer." The young genius had to believe one last time that help was coming.

Then finally a large colored man finally appeared from the bushes. The man had short black hair with a trimmed black beard and was quite muscular. It seemed as if his muscles were bursting through his short sleeved red shirt and cargo pants.

"Help us!" Wade exclaimed hysterically. The giant stranger nodded and jogged the short distance over to Quinn and Arturo. "What's happened here?" the man asked with an African accent. "Our friend was shot five times. Are there any hospitals around? Or maybe someone that can help him?" Rembrandt asked desperately.

"Yes there is a hospital not far from this location but the support can't get to him from here. I'll carry him to the main road." "How will they know to find us?" asked Quinn. "You are not from here?" They shook their heads in response. "We can alert help by holding this bead here," the stranger said as he demonstrated while holding a single bead on his bracelet. The pearl looking bead turned red in response and then vibrated for a second. "Help now knows someone is hurt. Now, help me get your friend on my back."

"Are you sure? The Professor here is a pretty heavy fella." "It is okay. I've carried far heavier. Now please, we must hurry."

Once they had secured Arturo's prone body on the stranger's back they made their way through the forest as quickly but carefully as they could. As they were going, Wade realized something they should have thought to ask.

"What's your name?"

"Zahir M'baku."

"Zahir. It's nice to meet you. I'm Wade and these are my friends, Quinn and Rembrandt. And you're carrying Professor Arturo."

"It's nice to meet you all I'm sorry it had to be under such dire circumstances."

Thankfully, it didn't take them long to make their way to the clearing. And in the distance, the sliders could hear the siren of the medics as it was getting closer.

Once they all finally cleared the forest and came to the road, the ambulance had just stopped and immediately the paramedics took Arturo off of Zahir's back, placed the injured slider on what appeared to be a hover gurney. One of the trauma assistants had already placed an oxygen mask on Arturo's face and three others was already pushing the hover gurney into the strange yet futuristic looking ambulance. As all of this was happening, Rembrandt was taking in some of the medical technology and ambulance. _I thought the Professor said that Sliding wasn't time travel_, he thought as he took in the look of the ambulance. The ambulance was red and white with a strange emblem of a cat looking face with in a cross. The ambulance also was hovering above the ground but had blue lights emitting from the bottom.

Rembrandt's thoughts were interrupted by Zahir, who pulled one of the medics away and informed the man of their situation. "These people are not from here. They're all going to need immunization medication."

"Alright. Meet us at the Wakanda Medical Center." "Wait! Can't one of us come with you?" asked Wade. "Sorry. That's not protocol." Then the medics jumped into their ambulance and was off.

"Come. I will take you to the Medical Center."

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

Thanks to Zahir, they had all reached the futuristic looking hospital just in time to see a flurry of physicians flock around the professor as they took him away.

For a second, Wade was able to catch a glance of her friend. She saw doctors working like a well-oiled machine as they applied resuscitation tubes and were cutting off his shirt. She was also able to hear the scream physician jargon back and forth but didn't understand exactly what was being said. With tears streaming down her face, she turned to Rembrandt, who just stepping beside her, and buried herself into his comforting embrace. While they were comforting each other, Quinn had to fill out medical forms and medical history as best he could. Which to his dismay, he realized that he didn't know as much as he thought he did about the eldest slider. _Don't think like that right now! Just fill it out as best you can_, Quinn told himself.

Once he was done though, he looked up at the clock to see that it was five in the evening. But then he remembered something that none of them cared to think about: the timer. Once the receptionist took his paperwork, Quinn walked over to Wade and Rembrandt.

"Wade how much time do we have on this world?" Simultaneously, Wade and Rembrandt's eyes both widened. Wade looked down and saw that she still had the timer in her right hand. But then she noticed something: her hand was completely numb and that she couldn't let go of the device.

"What's wrong girl?" "I can't feel my hand! I can't even let go of the timer!" "What do mean?" "I mean my hand's completely numb!"

"Hey, can we get some help over here?" said Quinn. Then immediately, a nurse came around and applied a numbing cream and then they pulled the device out of her hand. Apparently, due to the rapid back-to-back usage, the timer had over heated to the point of melting to Wade's hand. Thus, when it finally was pried out of her hand she lost quite a bit of skin.

The nurse then bandaged Wade's hand and then gave them all a purple pill. "What's this?" "I heard that you're not from here. So this is the immunization pill. This will allow you to eat, drink, and take any medications needed while you're here."

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

Soon though, the three sliders were escorted to a well furnished but sterile waiting area as they waited for news about the emergency surgery Arturo was rushed into. Rembrandt and Wade shared a gray couch while Quinn paced back and forth. However, as one hour bled into the second Quinn was starting to get tired but kept on pacing until Rembrandt finally broke the silence. "Quinn you gotta sit down. Don't wear yourself out." "How can I just sit Remmy? You saw how he was! He could be dying…" Rembrandt shook his head a little before continued on, "Look, the Professor's a strong man. He'll get through it. We've all been through worse." "Yeah, like me inventing this stupid 'sliding' process," Quinn said, his vice full of self-loathing.

"Quinn you can't think like that," admonished Wade. "Why can't I, huh? If it wasn't for me we'd all be living our lives like normal! Remmy'd be famous like he always wanted, you'd have your degree in literature and poetry by now, and the professor…"

Before he could finish, a clear African accented voice rang out saying, "Family of Arturo?" As if they were a single unit, they made their way over to the doctor. "You're Mr. Arturo's family?" the doctor asked with much skepticism. "I'm his son," said Quinn. "I'm his daughter," answered Wade. "I'm his nephew," answered Rembrandt.

Blinking for a second or two, the doctor then visibly shook himself and answered, "Uh, right…okay. Well I'm Dr. Wabe Nizine and I'll Mr. Arturo's main physician." "Nice to meet you, Doc," Rembrandt said. "We were able to remove all of the bullets but Mr. Arturo lost _a lot_ of blood. So we're going to have to him here to observe him and monitor any further complications." "Complications like infections?" asked Wade. The doctor hesitated for a moment before answering, "Thankfully we didn't encounter any infections. But while he was in surgery he was quite weak and we lost him twice. But" the doctor said, raising his hand to stop any beginning hysterics, "_but_ we were able to revive him. He's now resting in the rejuvenation chamber." "What's that?" asked Quinn. "Essentially it's a rapid healing chamber." "Rapid? So that means he'll be fine then, right. He can leave soon?" Rembrandt asked, trying not to get his or the others hopes up. "Well, that's another reason I wanted to talk with you all. The damage the bullets caused and stopping his blood loss was our immediate concern; however, our next concern would be the cancer that our medical robots found. Did you all know of this?"

With fatigue gripping his bones, Quinn sighed and then answered, "Yes. We were told that he had only a year left and that there wasn't anything that could be done for him." "That makes sense. A lot of other countries don't have what we do to accomplish this. I assume that's why you all came here?" The sliders simply nodded. That was essentially the truth, even though it was totally by accident.

"Well don't worry. We can operate and try to fix this as best we can. Although, I will say his brain cancer is quite advanced but we will do everything we can to help him." "When will you operate on his cancer?" "It varies from person to person, but in general the revitalization chamber can take up to nine to twelve days for the person to be well enough for the next operation."

"Okay. So can we see him now?" Wade asked. "You can for a few minutes but don't expect him to wake up any time soon. Right now he's under our specialized sedation while in the chamber but that doesn't mean that he can't hear you. In just a few minutes a nurse will be by to bring you to his room. But in the meantime, I need someone to sign a form giving us permission to perform the surgery." "I'll sign it," offered Rembrandt.

As the two walked away, Wade turned and looked Quinn in the eye and said, "See Quinn. If it wasn't for you, the Professor would probably be home dying slowly. Here on this world, they have what's necessary to save him. _You_ gave him this chance." Quinn had a look on his face that said he didn't quite believe her. Wade then continued, "Quinn…this is not like when you were little."

Whipping his head around, Quinn said in disbelief, "Little? Are you comparing Arturo and my father?" "Yes because you're angry and you're trying to blame yourself like you did for all those years. Quinn…it's not your fault the professor has cancer. Just like it's not my fault that he got shot. Do I like it: no. But he's always so protective of us all. This…possibility of being cured of such a deadly disease is such a precious gift. Can't you see that sliding has actually saved his life? That you saved his life?"

After a moment or two of silence, Quinn whispered "I-I'm just so scared Wade." "So am I."

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

As the nurse led them down the hall, they saw into one room with its door was opened and saw the chamber that Dr. Nizine described. It was of an octagon shape and it was large enough for the grown man inside to float freely in the green fluid as a light from underneath illuminated the man.

Once they finally reached Arturo's room, they couldn't help but be shocked at what they saw.

Unlike the one they saw in the other room, this chamber was a nine foot, horizontal, cylindrical shaped tube with Arturo, dressed only in thin black boxer shorts, floating in a green gel. Also, around his body was a type of harness that kept him somewhat stable and to keep the Englishman from drowning, he also had a respirator mask secured on his face. In addition to this, on the side of where the tank was, there appeared to be a two way radio on the side.

As they gathered around the tube, the nurse informed them, "Visiting hours will be ending shortly. So I would advise you not to get comfortable."

"We can't just leave him," protested Quinn.

"I'm sorry but that's our policy. You can come back tomorrow though."

At seeing Quinn about to protest, Rembrandt stepped in, "Q-Ball. We'll be back tomorrow, okay? Let's just let him now we're here and when to expect us. He can hear us right?" The musician directed the question to the nurse.

"Yes he can."

"Okay so why don't you guys talk to him and I'd like to ask the nurse a question outside," reasoned Rembrandt and the nurse nodded before stepping out of the room.

"Aren't you going to say something to him Remmy?" Wade asked.

"Oh you know it! I'll talk to him once I come back with the nurse."

As Rembrandt turned to leave, Quinn voice stopped him. "Rembrandt."

"Yeah Q-Ball?"

"Thanks. For everything."

"Hey, that's what family's for."

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** All television shows, movies, books, and other copyright material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual. I only own my original characters.

**Author's Note:** FYI, this same fic can be found on my Ao3 account (under the same story name and username) but on that site there's pics to go along with the story! Anyhow, please R/R!

* * *

That night across town, the three sliders were walking to a more permanent living situation.

"I can't believe they would let any of us stay there for the night." "It's their policy Q-Ball." "Well it's certainly going to be a long two and a half months that's for sure."

"Wait. Remmy… we can't afford this place? Right?" Wade asked she was looking up at the tall and luxurious outside of the apartment complex.

"Apparently, this is government housing. That nurse gave me the name of this place while we're going to be in town." "It's swanky…much better than anything on our earth." Rembrandt said as they made their way through the lobby and into their ground floor apartment.

The apartment was quite vast. Overall, the apartment held four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small kitchenette, and a decent sized living room.

After their inspection of the apartment, Wade threw herself on the sofa and sprawled out there. "So what's the deal with this place?" asked Quinn as he settled in a chair off to the right of the sofa.

"Well, while I was waiting for the doc to bring in the forms for the cancer surgery. I was able to read a history pamphlet that was just sitting out. Apparently, this Earth has eight continents total. Wakanda is an island continent off the shore of Africa." "Like Australia is on our Earth but it's the only island continent." "That's right. But here, Wakanda became a world power when the people expanded their kingdom and took over the new world. The New World, now New Wakanda, is the most advanced continent in the world but a lot of their success came from the Vibranium found in their native land." "Vibranium? I've never heard of that." "I'm not a scientist like you or the Professor but from what I can understand, it's some kind of meteor that crashed in Wakanda centuries ago and they've adapted it radiation or something." "Whoa! That so cool!" exclaimed Wade. "I know! But get this, when the natives took over the new world, they also took over a large chunk of their Vibranium and planted it in their capital in this country. Like in their native land, the radiation from the Vibranium has seeped throughout the land specifically in the flora, fauna, and in their water supply." "What's the radiation do to the people?" asked Quinn. "And what's that do to us?" asked Wade. "Look I don't know about that, but what I do know is great! Guys, New Wakanda has a universal public health system paid largely from taxes. New Wakanda's entire population has equal access to health care services. The nation has one of the highest life expectancy rates on the planet!" "So everything the Professor is getting done is free?" asked Wade, with an excited expression on her face. Rembrandt sucked in his bottom lip and bit it into a smile as he nodded. "Oh yes! Thank God!" "Oh and I did confirm, this place definitely has a cure for cancer."

"This is great! With the housing taken care of and the treatments taken care of, we can just cool it." "Not quite Wade. We still need to eat and buy some new clothes and if possibly some materials for the timer," Quinn explained. "Easy come…" Wade started. "Easy go," Rembrandt finished.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

Two weeks later…

The three sliders found themselves waiting for Arturo to come back from his brain surgery. The waiting area, like before, was sterile and pretty empty. But they couldn't be bothered to notice. They're minds and their inner prayers went to the physicians working on the Professor.

Also, like before Quinn was practically pacing a moat in the floor. The wait for any news concerning the man he considered a father was simply unbearable to the young genius.

About four hours later, they heard footsteps approach them. It was Dr. Nizine, who was still in his scrubs and was currently wiping his hands on a grey cloth.

"How is he?" Quinn, Wade, and Rembrandt asked simultaneously and anxiously.

Despite himself, the doctor smiled and answered, "He's doing just fine. It was a little difficult due to how soon it was after his previous surgery but Mr. Arturo's a strong and it would seem stubborn man. He's not ready to leave this world anytime soon. We've got him back in the revitalization chamber."

At the doctor's words, the three finally let go of the fear and anxiety they didn't know they were holding onto. "We're moving him to the critical care floor. The visiting hours there are a little more flexible." "So can we see him now?" "Yes you can."

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

One week later…

It was four in the afternoon and Quinn, Wade, and Rembrandt were all in Arturo's room. Quinn and Rembrandt were in the middle of a pretty serious checkers match while Wade was reading some literature to the slumbering professor. Like in the ICU, Arturo was back submerged in the green vat of goo as he healed. At some point, Wade stopped reading and simply stared at the recovering acadamien. After the brain surgery a week ago, the professor was shaved bald. But due to his green therapy submersion, his hair and beard has grown back with a vengeance. Wade couldn't believe how fast the recovery was due to this creepy goo. And from what she could tell, there were no scars from his surgery. Well almost… Wade thought sadly as she looked down at Arturo's right hand and saw the missing index and middle finger and the white patch adhesive patch on his chest. Dr. Nizine said that they couldn't save the fingers due to how much damage they took from the bullets. While the patch is working over time to heal and repair some damaged arteries and veins. While she didn't quite understand the medical jargon the doctors told them in their updates, Wade did understand that her Professor was in the best of hands.

Suddenly though, Wade was snatched from her thoughts as Arturo started to make sounds and small movements.

"Guys!" Wade said, getting their attention, "He's moving! Go get the doctor." Rembrandt was already out of the door while Quinn moved toward them and knelt down by the two way radio. "Hey professor. It's alright we're all here. Everything's going to be okay now," Quinn said with a few happy tears coming down his face.

Dr. Nizine, followed closely behind by Rembrandt, came into the room to investigate. Dr. Nizine then started checking a complicated machine with its flashing lights. Then he looked at the sliding family and said with a smile, "His vitals looks great. And according to the censors, there doesn't appear to be any signs of cancer anywhere."

"That's fantastic!" Rembrandt exclaimed.

"So in the next day or two, we're going to get him out of the chamber. From there, we will wean Mr. Arturo off of the sedatives he's been on since his time in the chamber. After that, you all can expect him to be awake, albeit briefly, sometime tomorrow afternoon. But then he will go back to a natural sleep for about forty-eight to seventy-two hours. This is the body's way of processing as much missing time and missed information as it can."

"In the meantime, how's your hand Ms. Arturo?" Inwardly smiling at the name, Wade answered, "Not bad, actually." "Well let's take a look at it." Dr. Nizine said as he motioned for her to raise her hand. The doctor unwrapped Wade's hand with gentleness and started to inspect the slightly swollen yet pink hand.

"It looks good. It's healing very nicely. Are you…well are any of you having any sort of reactions to our foods or liquids?" "No we're doing just fine. In fact, I've felt actually better since being here. It's like I could run a hundred miles an hour!" Rembrandt said, the other nodding in agreement. "That's to be expected. Due to the radiation here, you're going to see changes within your bodies." "Changes? What kind of changes?" asked Quinn.

"The immunization medication we gave you allowed you to function and live as if you were a native here. This is hugely important due to the amount of radiation within the land, fauna, plants, and water. If someone has not taken the immunization medication when they come here, they can die slowly and painfully. However on the other hand, if someone takes the medication and are here as long as you've all been here you're bodies start to adapt and mutate as the natives here."

"Mutate?"

"Yes. Like the natives, you will find that your bodies have been enhanced due to the radiation. These enhancements, or abilities if you will, will seem superhuman to you but are normal to us. Such abilities include, slightly heightened senses, heal physical damages in short timespans, increased strength, increased speed, more agile, more durable, and a longer lifespan overall. This is possible because the Vibranium in our system can be constantly replenished by our own bodies all the way down to a cellular level."

The three sliders stared at the doctor for a long shocked moment. Quinn recovered enough to finally say, "Whoa."

Dr. Nizine simply smiled and began to apply some cream to Wade's hand. The doctor knew that the sliders were too caught up their own thoughts as they were still trying to fully comprehend what he's told them. Thus, once he was done with Wade's hand, he simply and quietly left the room.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

Four days later...

It had been almost a week since Arturo was taken out of the chamber and placed into an actual bed in a new room. As the doctor said, Arturo did wake briefly but he talked gibberish, or least they thought it was gibberish. It was hard to understand him due to his accent being thicker than they ever heard before. Then after a few minutes, he passed out once again.

So over the course of the four days, the sliders found themselves after work, or before work in Rembrandt's case, in Arturo's room. This time, Quinn and Rembrandt were playing cards this time while Wade was simply watching the tv above their heads.

The anchor man on the television was talking about the King of Wakanda and New Wakanda was coming to their capital for an opening of the country's largest concert hall. The King was a six-foot young handsome man with mocha skin tone. The young monarch had short curly jet-black hair, with a neat trimmed beard and mustache, and his brown eyes had a look of wisdom beyond his years.

As the camera followed the King, Wade obviously noticed, and loved, that the monarch was surrounded by an all-female military and bodyguards. These elite fighters were called the Dora Milaje were all bald women and their attire looked to be a mixture of the Filipino, Japanese, and African cultures. From what she could tell in detail, these warriors looked to have Japanese jika-tabi boots, the beadwork and tassels from Ifugao decor in the Philippines, the arm bands and neck rings from Ndebele women.

But then Wade finally turned her attention back to Arturo. She then was running her hands through the Englishman's seemingly endless cow licked hair, but soon Arturo started to stir and then his eyes slowly but surely started to flutter open.

"Oh bloody hell…" Arturo groaned, his voice even deeper and quite scratchy from him not using it for awhile. The occupants in the room smiled in shock, Rembrandt and Quinn stopped their game and came to stand by his bedside. They were so happy to finally hear that rich bass voice they didn't know what to say.

At that moment, Dr. Nizine strode through the door, smiling broadly. "Well, I see that I'm just in time. Hello Mr. Arturo, I'm your attending physician Dr. Nizine. How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been shot, you blistering idiot," grumbled Arturo.

The doctor looked confused, while the others tried not to laugh at the famous remark their friend was known for amongst themselves. "Don't be off offended Dr. Nizine. My…father is generally grumpy." Wade explained. "Yeah, especially when he hasn't eaten anything for a while," Rembrandt said with a giant smirk plastered across his face.

Dr. Nizine smiled at their remarks before saying, "Well Mr. Arturo can you move at all?" "I can feel all of my extremities if that's what you mean. But I'm still quite stiff." "That's alright. That will last only for another day. How else do you feel?" "Like I've required the hangover of the millennium." At this remark, Dr. Nizine chuckled before saying, "That's the after effects of the surgery."

Arturo blinked in surprise and confusion at the doctor's words. "What surgery?"

"Well Mr. Arturo, you've had two surgeries. The first dealt with removing and repairing any damages the bullets had done. And the second was to operate on the cancer. And I'm happy to report," Dr. Nizine said as he was checking the machines on the side of Arturo's bed, "the cancer is gone and there's no indication of any recurrence of any sort."

"How is this possible? My previous doctor said simply to enjoy life and that there wasn't anything anyone could do for me." "Like I told your family, we're the only people that knows how and have the equipment to operate on any form of cancer. But it is very lucky that your family got you here when they did. Any moment longer and we wouldn't have been able to revive you like we did."

"What are you talking about? Did I die?"

Dr. Nizine hesitated before answering, "Yes. You died twice on the table of your first surgery."

"For how long?"

"The first time, you were dead for thirty seconds and then the second time for four minutes."

For once in his life, Arturo was speechless. While he was speechless, Dr. Nizine filled the silence. "Due to our rehabilitation treatments and with the help of your family, we can expect you to make a full recovery. You should be going home by the end of next week. However, I say that someone must help you as you recover." Dr. Nizine said, then directed his next question to the three younger sliders. "Who's going to be home with him during the day?"

"That'd be me," answered Rembrandt.

"Alright. Well your uncle is going to need someone to help him with some basic physical therapy, which will be provided at a later date, and to help him remember when to take his post-surgery pills."

While this conversation was going on, Arturo's sluggish mind caught onto 'uncle.' Then finally he sputtered, "Uncle?"

"It's okay Uncle Max. We're going to take real good care of ya," Rembrandt said, with a huge grin.

Catching on, Wade added, "Yeah Papi it's okay. Don't stress out and just let the doctor finish telling us what you're going to need." "They're right Mr. Arturo. Listen to your daughter. You just focus on getting better."

The rest of the instructions flew over Arturo's head as he was reeling over what they were calling him. It didn't take long for the instructions to come to a close and then the good doctor left. Then Arturo struggled to sit up, which was met with Quinn gently pushing back down, and said as forceful as he could muster, "What the devil is going on here?" His outburst got a resounding 'shhhh.' Quinn said quietly, "Look. While you were surgery, we found out that, like on our earth, families get priority and get more leeway than friends. So while we're here in this world, I'm your son. Wade's your daughter. And Remmy's your nephew."

At first, Arturo didn't know how to feel about this. For so long, he tried to keep them at arm's length with his formalities but during their many harrowing adventures they had wormed their way into his formerly cold and distant heart. Especially now, because they risked everything to insure that he would live. So the burly Englishman blinked his eyes free of a few grateful tears trying to escape and said with a smirk, "If we must. But must you call me 'Uncle Max'?"

Rembrandt responded with an almost evil glint in his eye, "Oh no, I don't have to call you that. I could always call you Pop, Uncle M, or Uncle Turo." "Turo?" Quinn asked. "Yeah. Short for Arturo. And besides it sounds awfully like the Spanish word: Toro. I mean you have been known to be quite bullheaded." "Never 'Turo'!" Arturo exclaimed. Wade laughed and said, "I like Pop." "See I thought of that one 'cause there used to be a guy in our neighborhood when I was coming up who was a father figure to everyone. We all just called him 'Pop'." "Oh bollocks…" Arturo groaned. "Looks like you can call him both," Quinn said with a growing smile. "I sure will. From now on actually!" Rembrandt said before he laughed his famous laugh.

Despite himself, Arturo chuckled along as well. He was just thrilled to be alive and be surrounded by those he loves and who love him back.

**TBC**

* * *

Well guys only one more chapter of this story! Then we're going into the main story series! Hope you guys stick around for this wild ride :D

Any way, for the quote about the Dora Milaje attire was taken from the Marvel Cinematic .com

Please R/R! See ya!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** All television shows, movies, books, and other copyright material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual. I only own my original characters.

**Author's Note 1:** FYI, this same fic can be found on my Ao3 account (under the same story name and username) but on that site there's pics to go along with the story! Anyhow, please R/R!

**Author's Note 2:** Hi Tracey! (I'm going to write my response to you here since you're a wonderful guest!) Thank you so much for that beautiful review! I really needed it. I'm really glad you're enjoying my story. I hope to keep you enthused as I continue to write. And don't worry, I've at least 6 more sliders' stories coming! My biggest challenge right now is trying to keep everyone in character while also trying to bring about some new things within their respective characters. That's a really big challenge for me! In terms of Sliders in general, I love the series! I'm still a brand new fan but when I first saw it the story and concept it truly moved me! The concept being anything is possible. While anything is possible, you should be encouraged to try new things and have to be curious about everything. And that message really stayed with me. I mean come on! I'm a Southern twenty-something black college girl pursing a degree in classical piano performance! (My personal timer is counting down two more semesters until I'm DONE…and onto my masters in Orchestral Conducting for Operas! Didn't see that comin' did ya! True story. If you're interested in operas or if you're new to the art form, I would suggest Le Nozze Di Figaro and Eugene Onegin. These are my absolute favorite operas! Their soooooooo brilliant and gorgeous. My heart flutters when thinking about them…go watch them!) But anyway, because of my own curiosity, I've signed up for classes that has nothing to do with my major but solely to enhance me as a person trying to contribute to society. Classes like Psychology, Intro to Physics, and more languages classes. I've learned so much from these things and I recommend anyone to do things you've never tried before. But anyway, I digress…again…Thanks again Tracey! Have a beautiful day. I hope you like where these series of Sliders' stories lead! *cue maniacal laugh*

* * *

Not long after, Arturo was soon discharged and began physical therapy. On this particular weekend while Arturo was in his first therapy session, the remaining sliders were sent to a specialist concerning a possible prosthetic for their friend.

This new building was massive and quite different than the others around. The building was a large white structure that came to a pointed peak at the top. The sun caught the peak of the building at a shiny point.

As the sliders walked in, there were two men who sat side by side behind a desk. The lobby was spectacularly clean with shiny hard wood floors. On the walls hung modern African art that complemented the room.

"Hello may I help you?"

"Yes we're the Arturos and have an appointment. We were sent by Dr. Nizine to talk about finger prosthetics for our father."

The man typed away on his computer and found their names on the list.

"Ah. Here you are. You're meeting with the head of the lab and quite frankly the best engineer here. Ms. Shuri. Please follow me," the man said as he got up from his chair.

The group followed the man to a clear elevator. They stood on a platform and then it jerked alive and began to lift them all through a clear tube all the way to a special floor.

Once there, the man escorted them into the lab. Then within a few strides they came toward a young beautiful colored woman dressed in a white sleeveless jumpsuit was working on a see through screen with complicated writings on it.

As they came closer, the woman -who looked to be in her early twenties- looked at them and then looked at their guide and she said, "Hello. How may I help you?"

"Shuri, these are the Arturos. They're father is in need of an index and third prosthetic finger. They were recommended by Dr. Nizine," their guide said as he handed the woman named Shuri the professor's file with pictures.

Shuri looked at the pictures and said in a teasing voice, "Ah another white boy for me to fix!" But as she continued to read the chart, Shuri's eyes grew wide and looked up suddenly at the strangers.

"This man should've been dead. Where are you all from and why didn't you get your father here earlier?" asked Shuri as the guide left them to converse.

"We're from Canada! And we didn't know fully how advanced your treatments were."

Shuri's eyes narrowed at them for a moment before motioning with her head for them to follow her to her personal office.

As they came into her spacious office with a large window that overlooked the Purple Gate Bridge, they were surprised to see a man standing in front of the window.

The man had spikey sandy brown hair with flakes of gray throughout. He wore an expensive looking navy blue suit and as he turned to look at them they saw that he had a fashionable goatee and that he wore glasses that had a purple tint to them.

"Shuri. Who're these people? I thought we were going to have a private meeting," the man said.

"We will Tony. But first I want to introduce you to the Arturos. They're not from this Earth."

With this statement, the sliders whipped their heads toward the young woman in shock.

"How'd you know?!" exclaimed Quinn.

"Well you just confirmed it genius. But also, we have a very advanced hospital in Canada. So for you all not to know means you're not from _this_ earth."

"So if you're not from here where are you all from? You can't be from Asgard. The few Asgardians I know speak much...differently."

"Well we're from a parallel earth and we don't know how to get back home."

"So random travel is that it?"

"Yeah. We came here by accident but we desperately needed to find a place with this level of medical help," explained Wade.

"Cool! Well you've definitely hit the jackpot! In all my time traveling to and fro dimensions this is definitely the most medically advanced earth I've ever been to."

"You're a slider?"

"A what?"

"That's what we call interdimensional travel Mr. …," said Quinn.

"Name's Tony Stark. And that's interesting. 'Sliding.' It's definitely got a ring to it. Props to you guys."

"Thanks and it's nice to meet you Mr. Stark."

"Eh. It's Tony not Mr. Stark."

"Well…Tony, if I may how'd you start traveling?" asked Wade.

"That's a long sad story but the jist is that I was experimenting with a Quantum Eigenstate Gate and my wife and young daughter walked in and got sucked into the vortex before I could fully comprehend they had come in. And because it was a test, there wasn't a log of where they were sent to. That scarred the crap out of me. Now I had a mission to find them as fast as I could! But the problem was, well besides the infinite universe thing, I needed a power source that would hold an infinite charge so that I could make a computer that was powerful enough to search an infinite number of dimensions for their specific quantum signature. And to find that sort of battery, I had to travel myself to other dimensions for the hope of obtaining this kind of battery. That's how I met Shuri and her brother the King. This earth was the only earth that I could find with not only _one_ infinite battery but two! Both of which were a natural source within the Wakanda kingdoms. And they graciously spared me the one they could after I had explained my situation. And because of this, I was able to power my ultra, super computer –which I named Jarvis— and he was able to locate my girls within two months' time and send them back."

"Were they alright?" asked Wade.

"They were scared but okay. They made due on a world where the Nazis had taken over the world but thankfully my wife is very resourceful."

"But you still travel? Why not destroy the machine?"

"Well, in return for their battery I promised to help Shuri and her team expand their already advanced technology and help against some strange invader known as Kromaggs. See, when I came back I was able to kill the being without it causing a disturbance and their 'mother ship' didn't come to investigate."

"Oh man not them again!" exclaimed Rembrandt.

"You know of these beings?" asked Shuri.

"Unfortunately yes. Not too long ago we were captured by them and taken to one of their outputs but thankfully we were able to escape. But just yesterday, Dr. Nizine gave us this device that was implanted within our dad. It was taken out of our dad during surgery. We think it's a tracking device but we're not sure," explained Quinn as he handed Shuri a small red blinking device that was in the shape of a small pyramid.

Shuri and Tony were gingerly looking the device over in their hands. Shuri then handed the device to Tony, who has pushed his purple tinted glasses into his hair as he squinted at the device. When Shuri came back, she was holding a dark green device that looked like a high tech calculator and she scanned the Kromagg invention. The scan omitted a blue and green stripped beam and once the scan was over Shuri pressed a few buttons and then pointed the device to her own free hand and the beam came back. But as the beam shot into her hand the Kromagg device was being rebuilt in front of their very eyes in mere minutes.

"Did you just clone the device? How and why would you do that?! They can now find you again," Quinn exclaimed.

"Don't worry. I put some preventive measures within the crypto-scanner here so that _this_ device, the cloned device, doesn't track. But we do need to study this thing because the Kromaggs are everyone's problem whether they know it or not. We have to know what we are up against. Their attempted invasion or study or whatever it was scared out warriors. A feat that is not easy to accomplish. So yes, I must know what this device is and from it we can hope that a weapon can be built to prevent something worse from happening."

"So your 'preventive measures', is that why your cloned device isn't blinking red?" asked Rembrandt.

"Exactly. According to the crypto-scanner, the red blinking allows the kromaggs to track you."

"Since they're tracking us, won't that lead them to you?"

"I'm working with them to build their weapons. With our combined weapons and efforts we should be able to fight them. But seeing as how you guys know of these freaks, I'm going to give you something," Tony said as he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a rectangular shaped shiny black piece of aluminum. Once he pressed the center of the thing, the color changed from onix black to completely clear and see through.

Tony then began typing something fast and a small hologram screen appeared.

"This is an interdimensional cell phone. I'm currently putting in my number and Shuri's number so that you can contact us no matter what earth you find yourselves on. You keep us up to date on anything you come across on these monkey bastards and we'll help you as much as we can. Oh, by the way say cheese," Tony said as he then pointed the device to each of the present sliders unprepared faces as the cell phone scanned their features.

"I just scanned your quantum and thermal signatures. This is for the homing device built inside. So if you're ever separated from the cell phone it will find _you_ and not your double."

"Just when you think you've seen it all, right Q-Ball."

"Tell me about it," Quinn said as he was looking over their new cell phone. But then a thought occurred to him. "That computer you built, Jarvis, could he scan us and get us home?"

"Unfortunately no. That one attempt blew the battery and now Jarvis is just a super computer. It was a onetime deal. Sorry kid," sympathized Tony.

"And we can't give you our only battery left," added Shuri.

"That's okay. It was worth a shot."

"But what I can do is give you the prosthetics for free since we are going to be working with each other," offered Shuri.

The sliders eyes went wide before Wade spoke for them, saying, "That's be awesome! Yes, thank you!"

"Alright it's settled then. You get some free digits and we're going to be kicking some monkey ass when the time's right!" Tony said with a wicked glint in his eyes. Then his watch started to beep.

"Oh gotta go, my daughter's in a science fair this year. She takes after her old man!" Tony proudly said as he pulled his glasses back down over his eyes. He backed away from the group and pressed the center of his watch. His watched then expanded only a few centimeters, but out of it came a tiny object came from the center of the watch's face and shot a blue florescent beam into the wall and opened a vortex.

Turning back to the stunned sliders and a smirking Shuri Tony added, "Hey Shuri make sure you give them the same crash course I gave you about the celly would ya."

"Oh yeah sure. Scaring the crap out of people is just what I plan to do with my life Tony!" Shuri said then in a playful yet juvenile way stuck her tongue out at the man.

Tony simply smiled playfully and moved his hands in a shrug motion that said 'what're ya gonna do?' and then allowed himself to be pulled in by the vortex.

Once the man was gone, the sliders-with their mouths still agape-slowly turned to Shuri.

Wade finally recovered said simply, "His watch just opened the Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky Bridge… Why am I surprised?"

Shuri simply chuckled and answered, "I dunno why you are surprised. But let me show you more details of your new phone."

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

Thanks to her part time job as a secretary, Wade usually finds her afternoons empty. And seeing as how Rembrandt helps the professor during this time with his physical therapy, Wade had decided a while back to take advantage of a company benefit that has some of the Dora Milaje come and teach a self-defense and martial art class.

The class has been more to Wade than she ever suspected. Since joining the class she's, obviously, learned how to protect herself but also she's made extremely good friends with the teacher named Isobi, a classmate named M'Boa, and Shuri- who's also in the class during her own breaks. But most importantly, Wade's also learned a lot about herself. One which dealt with her maybe relationship with Quinn. Although, she's holding out hope for the possibility of a relationship; however, she's surprising herself by the thought of not having one.

Dressed in black form fitting shorts and a black tank top, Wade stretched her body in a fluid motion as she accurately and striking slowly at a ghost opponent.

Wade's breathing stayed slow and she concentrated at keeping her heartrate low as she slowly swung her foot into the air and then brought it back down within the same slow speed and with precise control.

Once the class warmup was over, Isobi stood in the middle of the room and observed the class for a moment. Isobi was an amazon of a woman. Standing at least six feet tall with a beautiful light cashew coloring complexion. Like any of the Dora Milaje, she was bald but in addition to this she had strikingly beautiful golden eyes.

And as she stood in the middle of class, Isobi called for the class to stand in a giant circle and called for sparring partners. Voluntarily, Wade stepped up and then a young six foot man stepped up.

The two took a fighting stance as they faced each other, and then before Wade could blink the man had thrown his leg toward her head. A move that Wade had dodged completely by accident.

Because of the surprise of the attack, Wade didn't see the punch that soon connected to her arm. The solid hit caused a sharp pain to resonate through her body; however, she recovered quickly enough and was able to spot the next attack that came soon after that.

Wade had weaved to the side and out of the way of the following punch. Due to her dodging the attack, the young man lost his balance and fell to the ground. Whilst the man was attempting to get off of the ground, Wade had taken this opportunity and sent a swift punch to the man's solar plexus.

Due to the jab, the wind was driven from the man as he staggered backwards. Wade also took this opportunity to jump in the air and was about to deliver a vicious kick; however, the wheezing man grabbed her leg and used his brute strength to grab her leg and slam her into the ground.

Wade groaned in pain but saw that she couldn't stay down because the man was already in the air about to pounce on her like a panther would its own prey.

Thankfully, in a split second Wade performed an interesting kick-up. She had splayed her hands behind her head and pushed up but her feet had purposely been aimed at the airborne mane's crotch area.

The moment Wade's feet made contact, the man's face had drained out of all his color and whilst he was still in the air he buckled inward and landed on the ground hard.

With his prone position, Wade had kicked up again, walked over to the man in his fetal position, and placed a foot on his shoulder in victory.

"Time!" Isobi called and moved in closer to see if the man was truly okay.

But as the teacher was doing this, Wade was being surrounded by the other classmates as they were congratulating her. Then a voice from below broke the happy occasion.

As the man was still clutching his aching crotch, he glared up at Wade. "That was a cheap shot," he said through gritted teeth.

Isobi, still kneeling down by the man, addressed him and the class as a whole, "Actually no it wasn't. Let that be a lesson to all of you. Despite common belief, there are _no_ cheap shots in war or in street fights. Your opponent will do anything to take and keep you down. Use anything to your advantage. Whether it be 'cheap shots' or even the terrain, your ability to adapt is always going to be crucial. Class is dismissed for the day. Alkoko take him home," instructed Isobi to her best male fighter in class.

As the class was leaving, Isobi to called Wade.

"Wade, I would like to speak with you for a moment."

"Yes?"

"Something troubles you."

"Oh it's nothing…but maybe something. I don't know."

Isobi smiled and pushed gently, "Well take it from me, talking about it would help tremendously."

Taking a shuddering breadth, Wade finally let's out her pint up emotions. "Sometimes, I feel like a hypocrite in this class. I hate violence but here I am learning from the world's best fighters on how to fight."

Isobi gently places her hand on Wade's shoulder in a comforting manner and says, "Wade. You're not a hypocrite. You're simply learning how to effectively protect yourself. Just because you now know how to accomplish this doesn't mean you condone violence. It simply means now, that you have a greater chance of _not_ being a victim if something were to happen. That is all."

Wade smiled at the woman and nods her head up and down. "You make everything sound so simply."

Isobi smiled in response before changing the subject. "It's a blessing and a curse. On topic, how are you and your…friend doing? Are you still waiting for him to acknowledge your feelings?"

Wade sighed and began to walk in an unknown direction. Isobi followed silently beside her and patiently waited for an answer. Wade had forgotten that she had confided her feelings one day in Shuri and Isobi. And they had been very kind in listening to her vent. She needed that time to vent with someone of the same gender in hoping they understood where she was coming from.

As the two women exited the building, Wade finally said, "My friends and I have been traveling for three years now. So because of our circumstances I understand why Quinn and I haven't really gotten together but…as you know, I want something more."

"The journey we're on, this is the sliding between dimensions correct?"

"Shuri told you didn't she?"

"Yes she did but _don't_ be angry with her. Only a select few know of this and besides it was easy to believe in other interdimensional travelers because I was there when that Kromagg intruder came. I helped fight the ugly creature."

"Wow! O-okay then. Yes, I'm on this sliding journey with my friends. And over the course of countless earths, Quinn and I had some really close and kinda hot moments."

"Wade…what is it that you want out of life."

"I want to go home."

"Alright. Besides that though, what do you truly want? What are your goals?"

"My goals besides getting home? Well I'd love to become a writer and have a family of my own. And if I can work on computers along the way that'd be amazing!"

"None of what you just said is or should be contingent on a relationship with Quinn."

"It's not contingent on him but I'd like to be in a relationship with Quinn."

"Wade, listen to me. I know what I'm about to tell you is something you don't want to hear; however, it's a truth you need to hear. I understand that Quinn is a great man and your very best friend. There is no denying that. But you must understand that psychologically, he's been someone who's always been your rock. He came in at a time of your life that was very vulnerable to you and at a young age. He's always been your protector and he might always will be. But you're journey is evolving you into a new person with new interests. You're unintentionally out growing this notion of the two of you being in a romantic relationship. But you're fighting against yourself because you don't want to let that hint of a something go. But for your further growth and for the sake of your own sanity: let it go. _Let it go_. Quinn, as wonderful as I understand him to be, isn't trying to work into a relationship. Now don't push him into it. That's not fair to him. You must respect his feelings as well. It's just not something he truly wants. Acknowledge this and _own_ this. Trust me, don't wait for a possible maybe relationship that's going to constantly give your inner self daily torment. You're much stronger than that. Here again, the moment you let it go and see your relationship as simply friendly you're going to be much happier. And on the off chance you're able to find home again and then that special someone, you'll be ready mentally and emotionally for _that_ man. Then those other dreams that you have will fall into place as well."

By the time Isobi had finished her impromptu speech, Wade was crying silent tears. Wade knew the woman was right. The young brunette could only nod and cry in response.

The two women hugged and stayed there for at least ten minutes. However, as they parted and went their separate ways, Wade realized that after Isobi's advice she felt something she never thought she'd have again. She felt peace.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

Arturo was doing well in therapy. So well in fact, that he was in the special program that taught him some basic fighting tactics. All of which used the muscle groups that were being retrained in the earlier therapy sessions.

And to make the situation even better, Arturo had finally met with Shuri and he was given his two finger prosthetics. Shuri had explained that the fingers were made out of nano-vibranium technology. His range of mobility was fully restored with no fuss.

However today marked the last day of their visit on this world and Dr. Nizine had gathered them there to give the overall plan for the future once they leave.

"Mr. Arturo you've done extremely well. Like I said sometime ago, there is no sign of cancer anywhere in your body anymore and you've almost fully recovered from the injuries you've sustained when you first got here. There are still a few nerves that are mending; however, the pills that we're going to give you before you leave here today will take care of that."

The sliders looked at each other and smiled at the news. Then Dr. Nizine continued, "Like we also said before, you've all gained the same enhancements as our own people. Which has truly shown through Mr. Arturo's recovery. His physical strength and endurance has been hugely enhanced. His musculature system now generates less fatigue toxins. Yours will also generate less of these toxins as well. Also, the fat in your bodies are no longer visceral fat is has been converged to subcutaneous fat. This type of fat sits directly below the skin instead of surrounding and suffocating your inner organs. And in your case Mr. Arturo, your bulk will shield you from most injuries and penetrations will be superficial. All of you will also experience a much longer life. You will reap the benefits of a much faster self-healing ability. Now that's not to say you're invincible and will not ever need medical assistance and don't need to take care of yourselves. It simply means that you're at a much higher advantage of being healthy. So you still have to exercise, eat well, and be cautious in strange environments. Don't try and push the limit with your bodies. Don't go on drinking binges, eating competitions, and start fights! There's no need. Take this as a new opportunity of life and live it well."

The sliders nodded in understanding before Wade smirked as she looked at the professor seated next to her.

"You hear that Papi? No more bungee jumping."

"Yeah Uncle Max! My arms still hurt tryin' to haul you up," Rembrandt said as he rubbed his left arm from the memory.

The professor simply barked his infamous laugh and shook his head.

But before Dr. Nizine was about to ask what they meant, Quinn cut him off saying, "No! Dr. Nizine you don't want to know."

The doctor simply laughed as he leaned back in his chair and looked at the family before him.

"Look. I like your family. I really do. And I wish you all of the best as you all go back to your country. But Mr. Arturo continue to take your post-operation pills and continue to do your therapy exercises. However, if there is any sort of complication, get on the plane and get back here. Please don't hesitate!"

"Understood Doctor," said Arturo.

**~|S|L|I|D|E|R|S|~**

As the sliders head to the Purple Gate Park, they're being accompanied by Shuri. She wants to send them off and see how their sliding process works.

"So how bad is the timer Quinn?"

"Pretty bad. Because we didn't let it rest and forced gateways to open, we're practically sitting on a ticking time bomb. Eventually it's just going to give out. Hopefully, we land on another world that'll have the tools we need to prevent this outcome though."

"So whatcha sayin' is, if it really goes caput we're stuck on whatever earth we're on," said Rembrandt.

"Yeah Remmy. That's it."

"Well it was definitely worth it though," said Rembrandt as he look at Arturo walking up with Shuri and Wade.

"Oh for sure Cryin' Man. That's for sure."

As the others got closer, Quinn and Rembrandt heard Arturo ask, "So to be clear, this device is a cellular phone that can transmit its signal through other dimensions?"

"Yes. The cell also takes only four hours to recharge itself and it's practically indestructible."

"Extraordinary! Now…"

"Sorry Dad, but it's time to go," Quinn said as he pointed the timer and activated it. With its activation, the swirling blue vortex rippled to life and expanded to fit all four sliders. With wind blowing their hair in every direction, Arturo looked at the young Wakanda woman and shook her hand.

"Thank you Ms. Shuri for everything. I wish you all the best in your endeavors."

"Thanks Prof. Make sure you take care of yourselves!"

Arturo nodded at her and then jumped through the vortex. Rembrandt said next, "Look if you ever find yourself sliding, make sure you wear pads or find someone big enough to cushion your fall."

With a laugh and a huge smile plastered across his face, Rembrandt jumped through next.

Quinn smiled at Shuri and said, "Thanks so much for everything Shuri. And when you finally build your own sliding machine and timer remember to never advance it! Promise me that!"

"I promise Quinn. Safe travels!" said Shuri. With that said, Quinn jumped into the vortex.

The last of the group was Wade. Wade hugged Shuri and said, "I'll never forget you or this wonderful world! I'll make sure to stay in contact with you regardless of Kromaggs."

Shuri pulled back with a smile and said, "I'll keep you to that! Stay safe." Shuri then clasped her hands into soft fists and crossed her right arm over the top of her left arm in the Wakanda handshake. Wade mimicked the motion with tears in her eyes and then she finally jumped into the vortex.

With that the vortex closed behind her and left Shuri in standing in the park. Her heart still pounding from the rush of the vortex and from the happy feeling she got about making new friends from a completely different earth. She couldn't wait to hear back from Wade already about their crazy adventures.

But then her cellphone rung and Shuri smiled as she answered it and made her way back to her lab. "Hey T'Challa! You won't believe who I just made friends with. Take a guess! What?! No it wasn't Bucky! Try again brother."

**THE END...or Is It?**


End file.
